Prince Vekar Joins the War
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: With a collection of Ranger Keys already in their possession, the Rangers are finally embracing their new lives and powers. But now that they are, Prince Vekar has decided to take a more active role in the war, starting with sacking their home town of Harwood! The war has only just begun!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Ok, my story is WAY A/U by now, but this story begins loosely where "Super Megaforce" the episode begins, and will cover events from there my way. I would honestly say, if you haven't read "Nowhere to Go, Noone to Help, Nothing to Lose" and "Flight of the Privateer" that you'll probably get completely lost. Still, I hope you all enjoy it.

**Legal:** I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, characters, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights is to be considered purely the creation of the author.

**Timeline:** Directly before the start of "Super Megaforce"

**Rating:** T-there will be mild adult themes and language.

The unmistakable form of the Red Galleon made its way through the skies, heading for their next location. This one was very different. This time they weren't in a race for treasure. This time they weren't following one of Tensou's cryptic poems to look for more Ranger Keys. This time, they weren't expecting to encounter some small force sent to stop them in their latest quest, this time they were heading straight into battle. This time, they were there to lay their lives on the line to save hundreds of others.

Their newest foe, Prince Vekar, seemed to have taken a far more direct stance in this than his brother. After almost a month of playing tit-for-tat with his underlings and his henchmen, he had finally presented himself, 'gracing' the world with his presence. They had now seen the face of this new monster, and in his first demonstration of his power, in his first grand standing was to put the Rangers on notice that come sunrise, he planned to wipe Harwood County, their home city, and everyone foolish enough to still be there off the map. It was a direct challenge to the Rangers, one they knew that they had to accept.

As the ship sailed over the clouds, despite the usual level of trepidation, there was also a slight sense of happiness underneath it all. For the first time in three months, they were going home. For most of the team, they were going back to where they had grown up, to the streets that had shaped them into the teenagers that would pick up the fight for the Earth just over a year previously. For Troy, he was going back to the first place he had ever really settled, to the first place he had ever really felt like he had friends that would always be his friends. Not just passing acquaintances that would be there for him for the few months until his parents got a new job and moved on, only to forget his face and stop e-mailing a few weeks later, but people he had every confidence would always be a part of his life, no matter where they all ended up.

"Well, there it is." Noah told them as they started to approach the city under darkness. "Home sweet home."

They all assembled around the monitor, seeing the city before them. It had been a long time for all of them. As much as they had considered the tactical point of view that the best thing they could do, especially now that they knew that someone else, the mysterious privateer Lafitte was also looking for the Ranger keys, they knew that they had no real choice but to come and take on this fight. Not just because they had all promised to protect the Earth, and all its people beyond all else, but because this was their home. If they allowed Vekar to sweep through Harwood at will, if they didn't stand up to him now, then the entire war would be for nothing. Although there had already been battles, all of them were just feeling each other out, feints and jabs. This would be the real opening salvo.

"There are so many lights." Emma commented. "Vekar announced his intentions. Why are so many people still here?"

"He only gave them until sundown before putting up his roadblocks." Jake reminded her. "Not everyone will have made it out."

"I guess we knew not everyone would leave." Gia sighed. "Sick, injured, people with kids, people who have nowhere to go..."

"Not to mention some people just might have just refused to leave." Troy answered. "Some people just aren't willing to give up yet."

"Well, no one ever said this would be easy." Noah commented with a shrug. "There's nothing like innocent bystanders to make a battle more dangerous."

"Come on guys, let's set this thing down." Troy announced. "We'll need to be on the ground when the show starts."

As they parted, and headed their own ways, Gia made her way into her quarters, Emma went with her. She saw Gia lying back on her hammock, staring at the ceiling.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Emma asked her. Gia didn't answer her. It had only been a couple of hours since Cat, her girlfriend, had officially ended their relationship. Gia hadn't said anything at the time, but she had told Emma pretty much immediately afterwards. She told Emma everything. Gia just continued to stare at the ceiling. "Gia?"

"I'm fine Emma." She replied. It was easily the least convincing thing anyone had said in a long time.

"Gia, if you want to talk..."

"I really don't." Gia told her. "All I want to do is break something, and I'll get plenty of chances to do that tomorrow. I just want to rest."

Emma wasn't happy in the slightest with this answer, but all things considered, they could all do with being well rested for the day ahead. Emma just crawled into her own hammock, pulling a blanket over herself. Gia knew where she was if she changed her mind, and if she wasn't ready to talk yet, then no one could make her.

Meanwhile, in the mysterious dimension known only as "The Library", Jordan was working hard on his latest studies. He had been sealed here following the initial invasion. He had expended pretty much all of his energies, following which Gosei had taken him here, to the Library of Zordon, constructed in a location even Jordan wasn't aware of and revealed to him that he would take on a new role in the war.

Jordan had for the most part come to terms with his true parentage. His Eltarian heritage had expanded his mind into areas he could never have possibly fathomed before. He had spent the time since he was brought here in study and meditation, preparing for a time when Gosei would make his role clear to him.

It had been a while since he had sent a projection to his friends to talk to them. One of the most troubling aspects of the invasion had been Gosei's disappearance. With the exception of a brief appearance to the Rangers to save them from execution and the odd message to Jordan, he had been pretty much completely absent, leaving Jordan to study on his own.

As much as he now had a greater understanding of the universe, and his place in it, he missed his friends dreadfully. A part of him also had to admit missing the action. As the Robo Knight, he had been an important part of the Rangers' war with Vrak. He had grown up obsessed with superheroes, and dreaming of being one himself. While being a Ranger mentor was one thing, he still longed to one day be back in the thick of the action. Now that the Rangers were off to face The Armada especially, he wished he could be right back in the thick of things, to stand with his friends again.

In the end, that was one hope that he believed was closer to fruition. When he had created the Corsair Ranger powers, he had created six keys, making one for himself for the day he would be allowed to leave The Library and rejoin his friends. Unlike the other Ranger Keys, it seemed that the sixth Corsair Ranger Key was inexplicably tied to the Sixth Ranger Keys, meaning that it had remained inert all this time.

However, in their battles with Lafitte, the Rangers had found themselves in possession of fifteen of the Sixth Ranger Keys. In the last few hours, he had found the key giving off massive energy readings, indicating that it was almost ready. As he worked on the finishing touches to complete the key, he couldn't help smiling. He was finally going home.

As he finished it, and picked up the key, inspecting it, he was virtually giddy with excitement. The Robo Knight powers had been a great adventure, but this time he had intended that he would actually be a Ranger. As he marvelled at the key, taking the morpher in hand, he saw a flash of light. He looked up to see Gosei standing before him in his battle armour.

"Dad...you...you're actually here?" Jordan asked him.

"I know what you are planning to do my son." He stated. "I must insist upon restraint."

"Dad, if you're here, then you know what they're about to face." Jordan stated. "You know they're about to face a full on strike force!"

"I am aware of the odds they face." Gosei told him sternly. "Just as you are aware they have considerable power at their disposal now."

"Dad, they might have those keys, but...they'll be facing hundreds! Maybe Thousands!" Jordan insisted. "They could use all the help they can get! I made this key, this morpher so that I could help them! I've been here studying just like you asked for all this time! I want...!"

"This war is about more than what you want. If you have not learned that by now, then clearly your studies are not yet complete." Gosei reprimanded him, holding out a hand. "I will take those."

"But...I created them, they're MINE!" Jordan snapped at him.

"This key has a destiny." Gosei assured him. "But now is not the time."

Jordan knew that he was not to be argued with in a mood like this. His frustration was evident in his expression when he handed over his morpher.

"How old does an Eltarian have to be before his parents let him do as he wants?" Jordan asked him. Gosei just sighed.

"I'm over ten thousand years old. You're 18." Gosei told him. "To us, you're barely out of diapers. Come back when you've seen a couple of centuries pass and we'll talk about you borrowing the ship."

He saw the disappointment in his son's face and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You have a greater part in this war than you know my son." Gosei assured him. "Your chance will come, but it will not be yet."

"Can I at least contact the others?" Jordan asked. Gosei just nodded.

"Everyone deserves some encouragement from their mentor." He answered, before disappearing. Jordan just smiled as he went to figure out what he wanted to say to his friends on the eve of their biggest battle to date as his first Rangers.

Troy stood in the main room, staring at maps of the city of Harwood. Although they had done this many times before, this time seemed very different. Before, they'd had Gosei on their side. While they didn't doubt that he was out there somewhere, and he hadn't just deserted them, there was something comforting about having him sitting on their shoulder, watching out for them.

"I know what you're thinking." Noah told him. "We have all these keys and groovy new powers, but for all that, it was always nice knowing Gosei was there."

"How many times did he seem to have just the thing to save the day?" Troy asked as the Blue Ranger sat with him, setting down a sword. "I can't count the number of times we were facing the big one, and he was able to pull a Zord or a new power up out of nowhere."

"This time, it feels like we've got a lot more to prove." Noah told him. "Not to the world, or The Armada, or even Gosei...but to ourselves."

Troy just looked to Noah thoughtfully. He couldn't really remember Noah ever talking like that. Although the Rangers all had their own mentalities and flaws that marked them as different from the abstract notion of "normal", of all of them Noah was the one who seemed to care the least what anyone thought of him. He had never shown any indication that he was ever concerned that he was never in danger of winning Mr Universe, or being the most popular guy in the room. Of all of them, he was always the one who seemed to content himself with his own abilities.

Over the last couple of months though, since they had adopted the new powers, Noah had taken his training to levels none of them would have believed. Any time he wasn't studying the new powers they had unlocked with the Ranger Keys they had found, and figuring out how to study them to best utilise their special gifts, he was practicing with his swords. It was like when he lost his Shark Bowgun with the new powers, he had embraced the new short-range combat with an obsessive passion, one that rivalled the passion Troy had always had for Martial Arts.

"This time, we're our own safety net." Noah told him. "We pass or fail on our own merits. There's going to be no miraculous last-minute toys just given to us. If we need something, we need to take it for ourselves."

"You've thought about this a lot." Troy agreed, nodding in agreement with the assessment. "So we're on our own?"

"Well, I wouldn't say you're ENTIRELY on your own." They heard a familiar voice say. They both turned to see Jordan's projection appearing before them. He smiled as he saw them.

"Jordan?" Troy asked.

"You didn't think I'd let you face this all by yourself do you?" Jordan asked. "But...sorry, I don't have any new zords or toys for you right now...and the only thing I had on the drawing board...kind of isn't there anymore. What's up Tensou?"

"They keep hitting me over the head!" Tensou shrieked. "Your stupid glitch-infested tracking software..."

"Wow, um...sorry about that." Jordan replied defensively, holding his hands up. He looked to Troy and Noah. "I'm guessing that's kind of a sore point."

"You could say that." Noah told him. "He kind of takes it personally when one of us...you know...activates it. We end up getting pecked to bits."

"So you're basically here as moral support?" Troy asked him, brushing off this conversation. Jordan just shrugged.

"I guess you could say that." He replied. "But having studied the tactical databases of The Armada's previous conquests, I have probably the most complete knowledge of their tactical SOP."

"That...that could be helpful." Noah replied. "I'll just go and call the others. They should all hear this."

"Tensou, would you mind preparing some coffee or something?" Jordan asked him. "I have a feeling this could take a while."

"No worries." Tensou answered. "That's at least something I can do that doesn't involve one of my friends smashing me on the head with a blunt instrument."

"He' never going to let me live that one down is he?" Jordan asked as Tensou flew away.

"Do you blame him?" Troy asked. "Alright Jordan, what can you tell us?"

"Jordan?" Gia asked, smiling a little to see him. "You came back?"

"I had a little time, so I thought I'd help out." Jordan told her. "I might not have the funky armour anymore, but I guess that's all part of being a mentor."

As they gathered around the map, preparing to hear any advice Jordan could give them, they all felt more than a little better. He might not be able to ride to the rescue, or bring them new toys, but even in this capacity, it felt a little more like old times.


	2. The Siege of Harwood: First Wave

The Armada's Command Ship moved through a flotilla of ships, bringing itself into a more central position, ready to witness the battle ahead. Vekar watched all of the ships assigned to the sacking of Harwood move into position ready to descend upon his order.

He had sacked many worlds before, but this was the first time in a long time he had gone in so mob-handed in a show of strength. Taking a planet was much like taking anything else. The objective was to remove the resistance of the owner, so that they simply allowed their property to be taken. There was no point in owning a planet, on taking it into his empire if it had been completely destroyed and all its useful resources laid waste before he could set foot on it. Normally, worlds resisted for a while, but once they realised how helpless they were before the might of his empire, they would just lay down their arms of their own volition.

It had begun that way here. When he sent his trusted agent, The Commodore, he had all but taken the whole world within days. The military was completely overwhelmed, and thanks to the knowledge he had gleaned from his brother's research, he had managed to destroy the Morphing Grid, eliminating the threat that the Power Rangers presented...or so he had thought. Somehow, Gosei had disappeared, protecting himself and the last remnants of power left, and had granted the Rangers one last set of powers. It hadn't seemed like much, and he had opted to keep out of the conflict, unwilling to sully his own hands. It was a mistake he was beginning to think had cost him.

Reports of resistance and disobedience to his garrisons had surfaced from all over the world as the Rangers fought the forces that had been sent against them. With each of his officers that fell, with every battalion they destroyed, these reports became more and more prevalent. The Rangers themselves had seemed to only grow in power, each time somehow seeming stronger as they were able to transform into other Rangers, costing him more and more of his resources. In short, as the Rangers won, the rest of the planet started to resist. The Rangers were giving the planet something that was ultimately dangerous to his plan. They gained hope; they began to believe that The Armada could be defeated.

His decision to sack Harwood wasn't just about quashing empty hope though; the threat was not just hope on Earth, but the starts of a troubling shift in mood on his own side. There were even whispers in his fleet, some that had even crept aboard his own command ship that perhaps the Rangers power, which only seemed to grow by the day, was indeed too great for them. Perhaps this was one planet that would be best avoided while they sought out another. Argus had already 'disciplined' some of those that had been heard making such suggestions. No, it was time to make an example, to crush any such thoughts once and for all, and the Rangers had made the decision as to where.

For all he knew what the Rangers looked like, their names, and where they had come from, his intelligence was limited. He didn't really know who they cared about. He had no idea if they had friends or relatives, mainly because he had never cared to find out. However, logic dictated that if they were to be found, then destroying the Rangers' home town would likely result in SOMEONE they cared about falling victim. Anyone else...well...that was just collateral damage.

"Sir, the sun has risen over Harwood." Argus told him, turning to his master and bowing slightly. "We await your order."

"These readings...so many are still in Harwood?" He asked. Some had left the city before Vekar's curfew. He had given the residents until midday the previous day to flee the city before he sealed off the roads out of the city, a few hours to decide if they wanted to live or die. It seemed a surprising number had opted to stay.

"How shall we proceed?" Argus asked. Vekar just smiled.

"I gave them fair warning, it is their choice." He declared as he got to his throne and sat down, gesturing to the screen with his hand. "Proceed as planned. No prisoners."

With that, the ships started to descend, preparing their weapons as they went.

Somewhere in the city of Harwood, a phone started ringing. There was a groan as the man turned over on his bed, picking it up.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Eric Goodall groaned into his phone.

"I'm sorry sir." The man on the other end stated. "Its' just...she insisted we call. She insisted that she would only speak to you."

"Who's calling?" Louise asked wearily as Eric pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"It's the Princess." He told her. Eric's company, Cerberus Personal Securities had suffered quite a bit over the last few months. At one time an elite security company that provided highly trained personal security personnel and state of the art surveillance for private companies, demanding a high price for their expertise. Unfortunately, the invasion had caused a lot of companies such damage that they no longer could afford security from Cerberus. Others simply no longer saw the point, seeing how overwhelming The Armada was, and reasoning that Cerberus was a luxury they could no longer afford. He now only had about a dozen or so contracts, most of them from private households.

"Again?" Louise asked him. "Doesn't she realise...?"

"She realises she's easily my biggest account." Eric interrupted her regretfully. "I can't afford not to take this."

He got back on the phone and forced a smile. A fact not many people realised was that there was a subtle difference in tone that could sometimes be picked up over the phone. As odd as it sounded, smiling worked, even if the other person couldn't see them.

"How can I help you?" He asked. "Yes...yes of course...fine, could you put my man back on the line please?"

He just looked to Louise and rolled his eyes.

"Look, I know it sounds silly...Kyle, I know but...look, she already bought the costumes! It's not like it's costing us anything, would you just do it this once please?" Eric stated. "You know as well as I do, if we lose this job, we're pretty much sunk. Just...thanks Kyle."

As he hung up, he started to rub his left arm and chest. Louise got up, looking a little worried as she saw him reaching for a bottle of pills, fumbling open the cap.

"Eric..."

"I know Louise, it's just...we can't afford to lose this account." He told her.

"What was the problem?" Louise asked, knowing it was better to just let him talk about it than to try and suggest he simply call off the job.

"Apparently our suits didn't fit with the decor." He informed her. "She wanted my men to change."

"You're kidding right?" Louise asked him. Eric showed her a picture on his phone of the outfits. "Wait...what is that what she wants them to wear?"

"We need the account." He reiterated. "I guess it doesn't matter how stupid we look as long as things go off without a hitch."

"Without a...she IS aware of the invasion right?" Louise asked him.

"I guess we just have to have faith in the kids." Eric suggested. Louise just held him.

"They're close aren't they?" She asked. He just smiled.

"When have our girls ever let us down?" He insisted, holding her closely. They had missed their kids desperately, and while they knew it was unlikely they would be able to make a social call, it felt good to know they would be close once again.

As the first of the ships descended into the city, they got the order to open fire, hitting some of the larger buildings around the city. They were targeting as ordered in a specific pattern, designed to cause people to flee into the streets and funnel them, ready for the X-borgs to do their work. Magnets descended from the ships. As Troy looked through a set of binoculars, he could see that each one carried dozens of the robots, armed to the teeth for action.

"It's just like Jordan said, they're trying to funnel people into the streets." Noah confirmed.

"They're running the playbook one step at a time." Jake agreed. "That is a LOT of X-borgs."

"The bombardment's slowing down; they're getting ready for the ground assault." Troy told them. Just then, the X-borgs started to fall. Just as predicted, the bombardments stopped. They didn't really want to blast their own troops. Troy caught sight through the binoculars of one droid that looked decidedly different from the others. He was obviously the one assigned to lead the ground assault.

"Well, that's our cue." Troy stated, pulling out his morpher. "Remember the plan, clear out your area, then head for the centre of town. We'll rendezvous there."

They all spit off and ran out, morphing as they went.

Over in the mall, Ernie came to in the wreckage of the Brainfreeze. He had been in the restaurant, getting ready to ship out supplies to anyone that needed aid. He had already lived through one warzone, and while a part of him had considered leaving the city when the warning came, he had stayed because he knew that those that stayed would need assistance, food and drink. He didn't have much, but he had enough that it would help until aid could arrive for anyone lucky enough to survive the battle.

The lights sparked and flickered from the ruined electrics, and he saw dark silhouettes moving around in the darkness. He thought at first that it might be other humans, but when he heard the robotic whine, he quickly lost hope of that. As the first of the X-borgs came in, he grabbed the first thing that came to hand, a broken mop handle, and prepared to defend himself.

Just as the first of them was about to round the counter, he heard some shots ring out, and heard some ruined X-borgs crashing to the floor. The one coming around the edge of the counter fell in half as a sword; much like a cutlass sliced it in half. He struggled to see, but as the figure came around, he smiled as he made out the Yellow Ranger.

"Gia?" He asked.

"Ernie!" She called out as she put her weapons aside, and came to help him. She helped him up off the floor. "Are you hurt? Are you...?"

"I have felt worse, believe me." He assured her. Gia knew that was true, she still remembered the months he was laid up after the nail bomb attack in the Brianfreeze. She had to admit that when the Rangers had split up to address the squadrons of X-borgs searching the streets for people to attack, she had been drawn here.

"You...you stayed." She stammered.

"As you would have." He told her, inspecting the new suit. "I have to admit, it is different."

"It's taken some getting used to." She told him. "I kind of like it."

She heard a crash and turned to see if it was another attack, but it was just debris falling from the damaged roof.

"We need to get you somewhere safe." She told him.

"I will find my way somewhere safe." He assured her with a smile. "It really was good to see you."

Gia pulled off her helmet, looking him in the eyes and smiled, before hugging him tightly.

"It was good seeing you too." She answered. "I really need to go..."

"Go and help the city." Ernie told her. "Show those that remained their faith in you all has been rewarded."

In another part of the city, Noah had gone into the school, looking for anyone that had strayed there. There was an earthquake shelter in the basement, and he figured that some of the kids might have gone seeking refuge. As he arrived, he found some X-borgs who had the same idea. They were trying to break into the shelter. He whistled to attract their attention.

"Hey, are you looking for trouble?" Noah asked. "Because I think you just found it."

He rushed towards them, firing off his pistol, before lashing out with his cutlass. Taking them down, he looked around, making sure the coast was clear before he knocked on the shelter door.

"The coast is clear." He called out. As the door opened, a couple of kids peeked out, seeing him standing before them. One of them, he recognised as the girl he left behind, Quinn.

"Noah?" She asked him. He smiled behind his helmet.

"The coast is clear." He reiterated. "Is there anyone else in the school?"

"There...there were some other kids in the computer lab working on projects." She told him. "Not all of them got here, they..."

"I'll get them." Noah told her. "Lock the door, stay here until we tell you the coast is clear."

He ran through the hall, heading for the computer lab. As he got there, he stopped as he saw a couple of wrecked X-borgs lying on the floor, and while the kids were still cowering, there was one person standing, holding a weapon she had taken from one of them. He just smiled.

"The corridor's clear Principal Kwann." He told her as he arrived. "The others got to the Earthquake shelter."

"I'll get them there." She answered, tossing the weapon away. "I'm sure you still have work to do Noah."

"Uh...yeah, I guess." He answered, stepping aside and letting Trini lead her charges to the shelter. As he looked to the wreckage in the room, he just smiled.

"You messed with the wrong school." He remarked, before heading back out to the streets.

Out in the main street, several citizens had been driven into an ambush. X-borgs and Bruisers had them surrounded, and had them rounded up. The command droid charged with the ground invasion was pacing, wielding a huge pistol. He went to where some were cowering in wreckage.

"You humans can't hide from your fate." He told them as he came close. He saw one little girl terrified out of her mind. "Seeing you cower just shows how good I am at my job!"

Before he could do anything though, he heard some shots. He turned around in time to see Troy marching forward.

"You!" The Command Droid called out.

"Prince Verak has a lot of courage when he has people to hide behind!" Troy answered. "I'm guessing he isn't here? I guess my message is for you then!"

The Command Droid sent some of his followers towards Troy, which he took down with ease. Troy just looked straight at the rest of them as the others arrived. Seeing all five of the Rangers standing side by side, in the streets of Harwood, the citizens took heart.

"Go get them Rangers!" One of the kids screamed out.

"So, all of you are here, now I get a REAL fight!" The Command Droid stated. As the Rangers charged into battle, Troy made a beeline straight for the Command Droid.

"You people, get somewhere safe!" Emma yelled as she leapt to higher ground, taking out some X-borgs who had a line of fire into an escape route. "We'll take care of this!"

"There are a lot of these creeps!" Noah yelled as he carved some down. "Jake, switch it up!"

He threw Jake his blaster, receiving his sword in return as he found himself surrounded. Jake meanwhile turned his blasters to good use, clearing out a path for citizens to run.

"You're not going to let them upstage us are you Emma?" Gia asked, throwing her a blaster. Emma responded, throwing her a sabre in response.

The streets started to clear out a little, but as they confronted what was left of the initial invasion, Jake caught something out the corner of his eye. He jerked his head, causing the others to look.

"We still have an audience." He remarked, seeing that some of the citizens, rather than flee, had only just gone a little way out. Whether it was curiosity or moral support, the citizens of Harwood didn't want to miss a moment of this homecoming. Troy smiled.

"Then let's give them a legendary show." He told them. "Any suggestions?" Remembering seeing Principal Kwann, Noah nodded.

"I say we take it back to the beginning." He answered. The rest all seemed to agree, quickly transforming into the Mighty Morphin' Ranger team. A huge cheer went up as they lashed out, taking down scores of their enemies with their weapons, leaving very few of them as Troy called up the next change.

"Mystic Force!" He instructed them, bringing up their next change. With a combined magical blast, they took out the last of the ground forces, leaving only the Command Droid to face.

"You seem to be having an identity crisis!" He snarled. "But I don't care WHO you are, I'm still going to destroy you!"

They quickly realised the droid was deceptive in its appearance. Despite having one pistol, as soon as he opened fire, weapons bays opened up all around his body, launching a huge arsenal their way. It took all the remaining energy in the Mystic Force Keys to protect them from the onslaught, but by the time he was finished, believing he had destroyed them, they were standing in their Corsair mode, sliding their Keys into their Sabre Locks.

"That was good." Troy told him. "But not good enough!"

"Final Strike!" They all called out together, swinging their sabres and casting energy beams straight through him. The robot pitched backwards, and exploded to a huge rousing cheer from the nearby citizens. Troy and the others took a moment to bask in their comeback.

"The first wave's down." Troy announced, draping his sword casually over his shoulder as the crowd applauded and screamed in excitement. "Man, it's good to be home."

**A/N:** Before I get any questions about the change here, I am aware it was the Samurai they changed into first. In this continuity though, they don't have those keys yet, so I switched it to the MMPR team. Hope that clears it up.


	3. The Siege of Harwood: Second Wave

Prince Vekar stood, completely dumbfounded on bridge of his Command Ship. His Command Staff, Damaras, Argus and Lavira were all standing with him, but while he was staring at the screen, they were all staring at him, silently awaiting his reaction.

While Vekar and Vrak were similar in a lot of ways, there was always a marked difference between them. Vekar, having grown up as the heir to the empire, was always convinced of his superiority, and expected things to go to plan with little if any cost to himself. Unlike Vrak, who accepted that sometimes things did not go his way, Vekar had for the most part been spoiled. The worlds that didn't simply surrender to his will generally fell with relatively little effort. When things didn't go his way...

"The Power Rangers did THIS to my Soldier?" He said, his anger beginning to bubble to the fore of his otherwise regal demeanour. "I sent an entire strike team, and they were defeated by...by...FIVE CHILDREN?"

"Apparently, yes." Damaras replied. Vekar rounded on him for his rather direct statement of the obvious.

"Well, I don't LIKE THAT!" Vekar yelled petulantly. "I want another Commander!"

"I'm here sir." A creature announced as he arrived. Unlike the Command Droid, this one appeared to be a biological creature. It was large, and green, with a large red dome on the top of what could loosely be called its face, and numerous tentacles hanging down. It was wearing heavy armour, ready for action. The creature bowed.

"Damaras has already called Tentalacus." Argus informed him, taking a bow. Prince Vekar just looked to Damaras, clearly incensed.

"I took the liberty of preparing for the unlikely event the Rangers blunted the first wave." Damaras explained. "We have simply prepared another wave of the invasion. They may have power, but they are human. They are prone to fatigue."

"Good! Then crush this resistance! HARD!" He yelled as he stormed out of the room. Damaras just looked to Tentalacus.

"You heard the Prince." He stated. "And I would advise you do not return until that city lies in ashes."

Back in Harwood, at a large estate at the far end of the city, things seemed very different from the chaos of the city. The large home was in chaos, but far from any kind of panic, it was buzzing with servants as the grounds were prepared for a huge party.

Cerberus were providing security at the perimeter, dressed in bright red suits, with pink shirts and red ties as per the orders from the householder. Kyle got to the gate, where a hulking brute of a man in a red suit was busy exchanging harsh words with a man in blue overalls. Kyle just approached, sighing loudly.

"Alright, what's going on here?" Kyle asked, looking to the huge man. "Benny?"

"This guy won't take no for an answer!" Benny answered indignantly, slapping a clip board. "He's not on the list!"

Kyle just looked to the guy and sighed.

"What are you here for?"

"I'm here to do repairs on the limo." He replied in an accented voice, handing Kyle a fax. "I was contacted this morning by the lady of the house, but this bampot wouldn't listen!"

Kyle took the fax and read it, before handing it back.

"The limo's around the side." He told him. "The lady of the house wants the front looking perfect..."

"That sounds about right." The mechanic replied with a goofy smile. Benny placed a massive hand on his chest.

"You might have been verified, but I'll need to check that tool box." He stated gruffly, unhappy that he had been over-ruled. "How do I know you don't have a weapon in there?"

"Just make it quick." Kyle told him. "I'm sure the princess..."

Just then, his cell phone rang. He groaned.

"Speak of the devil...hello?...Yes...I...Alright, I'll be there shortly." As he hung up, he looked to Benny. "Alright, I think we can safely say he doesn't have anything in there that isn't meant to be now Benny, so unless you're planning on strip-searching him..."

Benny just grunted, and gestured him through. The mechanic just gave him a smirk as he left, before Kyle approached him.

"Look Benny, we have procedures..."

"I know how to man a door kid!" He interrupted him. Kyle just sighed and glared at him.

"I don't care what clubs your boss had you play bouncer for back home. We have an SOP for a reason." Kyle reminded him. "You might be sub-contracted, but you work for us. Remember that."

"I'd like to see you say that to my boss." Benny chuckled as Kyle left to go and speak to his client, resuming his place by the door.

Troy and the other Rangers were catching their breath after the first wave of the invasion. More than a few of the residents of Harwood wanted to assist them in any way they could. Right now though, there was only one place they could be convinced to go.

"Now that, that is EXACTLY what I wanted to see!" Jake said with a huge grin as a waiter walked into the room, carrying five large, steaming hot bowls of curry. The citizens they had saved had bombarded them with offers of tokens of gratitude, but when one of them told them he owned a restaurant nearby that hadn't been badly damaged, they had all jumped at the chance for a meal they didn't have to prepare themselves.

"Oh man, this is so good!" Noah mumbled out through his first mouthful. "I'm not complaining about the food on the ship, but this is WAYYY better!"

"What do you think Troy?" Emma asked him. Just as Troy was lifting the spoon towards his mouth for the first taste, there was a huge explosion, and the whole front of the restaurant was thrown in on them.

The Rangers sat silently for a moment, covered in dust and debris. Troy just looked down at his curry, which was now completely ruined by all the muck and mire that had been thrown in on it.

"Is everyone alright?" Emma rushed out.

"I'll tell you when my ears stop ringing." Gia answered. "Troy?"

Troy just sighed and pushed his ruined curry away from him.

"Alright guys, I guess we were expecting this." He commented. "Round 2"

They stepped out onto the street as the staff ran and hid in the back, finding the place swarming with X-borgs and Bruisers. Ships were flying in, dropping more. Tentalacus was having the time of his life with a shoulder-mounted blaster, firing on skyscrapers, destroying them in a hail of fireballs. Troy and the others stepped into view to confront him.

"Hey, squid face!" Troy called out. "You ruined a perfectly good lunch!"

"You so wouldn't like him when he's hungry." Emma added. Tentalacus just sneered at them.

"The Power Rangers! I've been warned about you!" He commented. "I was expecting someone...bigger."

"You should have heeded that warning!" Troy answered as he opened fire with his blaster. Several of the X-borgs threw themselves into the path of fire to protect their Commander, falling in heaps of scrap.

"So much for introductions!" Tentalacus snorted. "Attack!"

The Rangers didn't wait for the invitation, rushing forward to meet the attack head-on.

Back at the mansion on the edge of the city, Kyle made his way into the main room, finding the butler making his way around the tables, straightening out the buffet station, checking the creases on the table cloths, and ensuring the cutlery was all shined to a mirror finish. He noticed the older man was wearing a sling, and couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Practice?" He asked. The butler just nodded.

"Mistress wanted to work out early today." He informed Kyle. "She wanted to be ready for when her guests arrive. She said..."

"I know, I know, everything has to be perfect." Kyle grumbled. "So where is she? She said she wanted to see me."

"She is having her make-up finished." The butler informed him. "She said I could relay a message. It is just to remind your men that the guests will be arriving by the front gate, but the gifts will be arriving by the back. As you can see, I am somewhat short-handed for that role right now, so..."

"Fine, I'll sort something out." Kyle muttered. "I don't suppose there's any chance I can convince her that today is hardly the best time for this birthday party."

"I am afraid her mind is made up on the matter." The butler assured him.

"Of course it is." Kyle replied sarcastically. "I'll go do something...not here. She knows my number if she needs anything."

As he left the room, he looked back to the old butler and shook his head in disbelief. He understood that Eric needed this account, but he couldn't for the life of him imagine why someone would willingly stay in her service as long as this man clearly had, given what he had to do to keep Her Highness happy.

Back at the site of the battle, the Rangers had just finished taking down the last of the robotic henchmen. They rounded on Tentalacus, coming back together as they faced him.

"Aren't you getting sick of this?" Troy asked. "I imagine all these robots must be expensive."

"So you can beat up on my henchmen, and you destroyed the Command Droid, big deal!" Tentalacus called out. "Now you'll face the power of a true Armada Warrior!"

They stood their ground as he fired a salvo of missiles their way. The explosions ripped around them, pummelling them senseless. They were already feeling the effects of fatigue from the previous wave of the invasion, and it didn't look like Prince Vekar was going to let up any time soon. Peeling themselves off the floor, Troy took a Ranger Key from his belt buckle.

"He's preparing for another strike." Troy told them. "Let's take out his missiles, then take out him!"

"SPD Emergency!" They called out in unison, morphing into the team with the most precise firepower at their disposal. They all took up a perimeter, firing into the missiles, targeting them as they came in, blowing them up in mid-air before they could come close enough to harm them. Taking out the last of the missiles, they turned their attention to Tentalacus, blasting him, forcing him to stagger and drop his weapon.

"Alright, he's disarmed! We've taken out his fire-power!" Troy called out. "Let's take him out quick, before he regroups! Let's make him see Red!"

By the time Tentalacus had recovered in time to fight back, he was staring at the Red Mighty Morphin', Turbo, SPD, Mystic Force and Overdrive Rangers.

"Wow, I suddenly feel all entitled to lead and stuff!" Jake said with a grin as he brought up his Drive Lance. "Alright, lead us off!"

Noah as the Red SPD Ranger and Gia as the Red Mystic Ranger combined their blasts, creating a column of flame that hit him full on, burning him painfully. The flames hadn't died down by the time Jake attacked with his Drive Lance, followed up by Emma, slicing through him with the Turbo Sword.

Finally, Troy powered up the Power Sword, and leapt into the air, swinging as hard as he could, cutting Tentalacus from head to crotch in a single blow. He started to spark as he pitched backwards.

"At least it took five teams to beat m..." He exploded before he finished as the Rangers powered down back into Corsair mode.

On Prince Vekar's Command Ship, he had seen the destruction of his latest wave, and he was far from impressed. His grip tightened on the edges of his throne.

"Tentalacus is gone." Argus stated bluntly. "Something must be done!"

"Leave it to me." Lavira stated as she made her way to her control console, opening up the compartment housing the maximiser, taking it into her hand. "The improvements I've been making are complete. Watch!"

Back on the ground, the Rangers saw beams hitting the ground, but there was no sign of any destruction. As one of them struck the remains of Tentalacus, Jake just sighed.

"Are we EVER going to get to eat today?" He complained.

"When are they going to come up with new tactics?" Noah asked. As they watched Tentalacus grow, they looked to the other beams. A couple of bruisers Troy had taken down earlier re-assembled and grew as well.

"Well...that's new." Gia commented.

"They can grow four at once now?" Emma complained. "Now I know how the Samurai felt!"

"Alright guys, we knew it was going to be this way!" Troy reminded them. "He's escalating, so can we!"

"Yeah, the Chicago Way!" Jake responded as they called the Zords. "They pull out a big monster, we pull out a Megazord!"

Over at the estate, the mechanic was underneath the limo, working on it when he heard someone enter the garage. He could see a pair of feet, and seeing a pair of expensive heels, he smiled, before rolling out from underneath the car.

"Um...hi." He began, starting to get up. "It's...it's just about ready, it was only a minor leak..."

"Will it be ready in time for tonight?" The new arrival asked him. It was an attractive blonde woman, wearing a designer dress, and with heavy make-up on her face.

"Yeah, it should...um...it should only be another couple of hours or so." The mechanic assured her. "I don't know if your driver's just being a tumshie or what, but this is the third time I've been called out for this thing in a fortnight...not that I'm complaining about the work ye understand..."

"Yeah, we've had it for a while." She answered. "Maybe it's time dad got me a new one."

"Miss Summer, your guests have arrived." The butler said as he arrived. The young girl just looked to him.

"Oh...um...right, I'll be right there." She answered. "Well...I'll leave you to it. See you."

"I sure hope so lass." The mechanic replied with a smile as he got back onto his trolley and went back under the car to continue working.

Back at the site of the battle, the Rangers had unfortunately found themselves being led towards a power plant. They knew that if too much damage was done, most of the city would be without power. They had been fortunate enough to take out two of the Bruisers before they got there. As the Megazord landed in the plant, they confronted the Bruiser.

"Damn it, we lost sight of squid face." Noah commented. "How does a fifty ton squid hide?"

"You shouldn't turn your back!" Tentalacus laughed as he grabbed them from behind, wrapping his tentacles around them to hold them fast. They watched as the Bruiser moved into position, beginning to power up.

"He's got us held fast!" Emma called out. "We need to do something!"

"Let's see him hold onto this!" Troy stated, flicking open his Red Corsair Key. The others followed suit, turning their keys. "Final Strike!"

Tentalacus struggled to hold on as the compartments forced themselves open, and the massive cannon sprouted from the Megazord's chest. It opened fire, smashing the Bruiser into smithereens. The heat from the cannon flashes was too great, forcing Tentalacus to let go, screaming as it burned him painfully. The Megazord turned to face him, the hatches opening up again.

"No...wait!" Tentalacus protested. "We can talk about this!"

"This is a message for your boss!" Troy told him, opening fire once more. "He can send anyone he likes, as long as he doesn't send anyone he wants back! FINAL STRIKE!"

With a roar of cannon, Tentalacus exploded, leaving the city safe from the second wave of the invasion. Troy just looked to the others.

"Alright, where can we go?" He asked. "I'm hungry, and somehow I think the kitchen's closed at that last place." Emma just looked to him, smiling beneath her helmet.

"I think I know the perfect place." She stated. "And I just know we'll all be welcome!"


	4. A Visit Home

In his home, Eric was sitting on the couch, hefting a small dumbbell as he watched the television. As Louise came into the room, she saw it was the news. She started to make her way over.

"Eric, you know you're supposed to be taking it easy." She said, looking a little worried. She pointed to the television.

"Louise, if I took things any easier, I'd never leave my bed." He complained as she took the dumbbell off him. "The doctor said I should get some light exercise."

"You call this light?" She said with a grimace, putting the dumbbell over on a table, setting it to rest, before wringing out her fingers after the strain. "I think the doctor meant going for a stroll, maybe a brisk walk to the shops every now and then..."

"Louise, when have I ever been the gentle stroll kind of guy?" He asked her. She pointed to the television.

"And just how is that supposed to help?" She asked him. "You know how worked up you get..."

"Louise, they're in Harwood, our girls are maybe only a few streets away." He reminded her. "I had to..."

"Don't you think I want to see them too?" She asked him. "Eric, I know this is hard, it is for me too."

Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by the doorbell. As Eric's phone rang, he just looked to Louise, before answering it.

"Hello Kyle." He answered, rubbing the side of his head. "OK, what does Her Highness want now?"

Louise just went to the door, cursing that stupid phone. She'd always known Eric's clients could be demanding, but the Landsdown account on its own was particularly demanding of his time. Any time the phone rang, practically any time of the day or night lately; it seemed it was the Landsdown kid with yet another ridiculous request from his security detail. If she could, Louise would have marched over to the mansion weeks ago and rammed it down the spoiled brat's over-privileged throat. However, as his single biggest account in some pretty lean times for his company, Eric insisted that they needed to just weather the storm.

"I'm sorry, this isn't a good..." She started to dismiss whoever had disturbed them, but her words tailed off as she looked up and saw them standing right there on her doorstep. Emma, Gia, Jake, Noah and Troy, all stood, smiling at her. Gia and Emma were at the front of the group.

"Hi, um...we were hoping we could..."

Emma didn't finish, Louise rushed forward, grabbing both of them in tight hugs, squeezing them like her life depended on it. The two girls returned the gesture as tears of joy started to run down her face.

"You...you're here! I can't believe..."

"Um...Mrs Goodall, can we take this inside?" Troy asked her. "People might be glad to see us, but...you know...the reward is pretty tempting."

"Of course, of course, come in!" She insisted, ushering them all off her doorstep. To many people, they were the Rangers, to others, the Planet's Most Wanted...but to her, they were the kids that months before used to crash her place and clear out the larder for night time study sessions. "Gia, you look...you look really good!"

As they got through to the Living Room, where Eric was just finishing up his phone call. Seeing him there, Emma just stood for a moment, watching her dad on the phone, wearing his simple grey cardigan and jeans. From the context, she could tell he was on a business call. She could hardly believe that after three long months, he was standing just a couple of feet away. He hung up the phone.

"Bitch." He muttered under his breath.

"That's an interesting way to talk about your clients." Emma replied. Eric heard the voice, and was almost afraid to turn around in case he was mistaken. As he saw her, he found himself virtually speechless. "Hi dad."

With that, he just crossed the room and grabbed her, holding her tightly, like he was afraid that if he let go she would disappear from the world.

"Emma." He rushed out, before gesturing Gia over, hugging her too. "Gia, I...I can't believe you're here!"

"We're really pleased to be back too." Gia assured him. "Um...listen, sorry to sound like this is a mooching call, but we're all pretty hungry..."

"Of course, of course, take whatever you like!" Eric assured them, taking a seat with the girls.

"Um...I'll just...I'll go and see to that." Jake stated as he headed for the kitchen. "It kind of looks like you're having a moment here. I'll just...yeah."

Meanwhile, back at the Landsdown place, Andrews heard the doorbell, answering the door to the crowd of friends coming around for the birthday party. As he showed them in, Summer came down the stairs. As she greeted her friends, warning them not to touch her face for fear of messing up her make-up, none of them saw the mechanic in the nearby kitchen, washing up his hands.

"What are you doing here kid?" Kyle asked as he found him. The mechanic just looked to him.

"I...um...the job's bigger than I thought." He replied. "I'm goin' tae be workin' through lunch, I just came to was up my hands..."

"There's a sink in the garage isn't there mr...?"

"McAllister." The mechanic answered. "Flynn McAllister. Uh...yeah, but I was looking for soap, I forgot mine..."

Kyle just cut him off with a hand gesture, following his gaze into the room. He just sighed.

"I can understand the appeal, I've not seen anything like this either." Kyle told him. "But the rules are no help."

He could see the disappointed look on Flynn's face, and just shook his head.

"Just finish up what you're doing and get back to it." Kyle told him. "Believe me, it'll be the biggest tragedy in the world if that car isn't ready on time."

"It'll be ready." Flynn assured him. "Thanks."

"Whatever, just get that car running." Kyle told him as he went back to his duties.

Back at the Goodall place, the Rangers were all sitting down to a fantastic home-cooked meal. Although they didn't exactly eat poorly, the fact was that preparing meals was more of a necessary chore than something they took time over these days, meaning that this was something of a glorious treat, even if all he'd ended up making was macaroni cheese and garlic bread.

"My God Jake, you REALLY know how to cook!" Gia complimented him. "This is the best thing I've had in ages!"

"It's really great seeing you all again." Eric commented. He looked to Troy. "So, it must be pretty exciting, all alone up there in that ship, travelling all over."

"It does get pretty exciting at times." Troy assured him. He saw a look on Eric's face, and just gave a nervous cough. "Um...but you know, between training, searching for Ranger Keys and battles, it all gets really busy. We don't have much time for much else."

"Ranger Keys?" Louise asked. Gia took out her Yellow Corsair Key and showed it to her mother.

"These, they work with our new morphers." Gia explained. "They're what let us morph."

"We have them for other teams and Rangers too." Noah explained. "That's what lets us change into all those other Rangers."

"So...you're looking for these?" Louise asked them. "That's what you've been going all over the place for? Looking for those things?"

"If we get all of them, Gosei said we'd be able to get rid of The Armada." Troy explained. "It's...kind of slow going though. They're kind of scattered all over the place."

"Excuse me." Eric said, getting up from the couch. Emma looked a little concerned, seeing the effort in his face. As he went to the kitchen, Louise just indicated to them to stay.

"Um...guys, why don't you go to the Brainfreeze and get us some desserts or something?" Louise asked.

"I think the Brainfreeze is kind of..."

"We'll head out there." Troy assured her, waving off the money. "Come on guys, I'm sure Ernie's probably still got some ice cream in storage or something."

As they left, Emma looked to Louise, looking more than a little worried.

"What's going on?" She asked. "Dad never works from home if he has a major client."

"It's not by choice." Louise assured her. "Emma, I want you to know, I've been taking really good care of your dad..."

"Please, you're really starting to freak me out now." Emma interrupted her. "Dad never works from home if he can help it, and he looked really pale...is something wrong?"

"Emma, you know he struggled a lot after Wayne sold up and left town." Louise explained. "Well, the company's not doing so well. A lot of contracts have been cancelled, and your dad had to seriously downsize."

"But that's a good thing right?" Gia asked. "I mean, sure it's less money, but surely it means less work."

"The thing is, a lot of things have really gotten to him." Louise told them. "Emma, about six weeks after you left, Eric had a heart attack."

"Oh my god!" Emma shrieked, hearing this, her eyes already starting to tear up. Gia immediately held onto her. "Is he...?"

"It took a lot out of him. He got through it, but he's been warned he needs to seriously cut back." Louise told her. "He's had to delegate a lot of his work out to others in the company, and he's been working at home pretty much ever since."

"He...he had...and I wasn't here." Emma sobbed. Louise took her hand gently.

"You were here; you were here in every way that counts." Louise assured her. "I was here to take care of him, but it was the thought of you out there, fighting to come home that got him through it. He never gave up hope of seeing you again. When he saw you today, that's the brightest I've seen him since...since before it happened."

"So, is he...you know...is he alright?" Gia asked.

"He needs to watch what he eats, and he's been told to take it easy." Louise assured them. "He has some medication he has to take...I've been doing all I can, believe me. Kyle, he's been a godsend. He does a lot of Eric's day-to-day stuff in the field."

"Kyle?" Gia asked. "That guy that caught Spider at the plant?"

"He really stepped up since your dad downsized the company." Louise told them. "A lot of his long-term employees left for other companies when things started to get quiet. Kyle and some of the others stayed out of gratitude. Kyle's really stepped it up in that time. I've heard he's gotten a lot of other offers, but he keeps turning them down. I don't think the company would have survived if he hadn't taken on the responsibilities he has."

Louise leaned in closer, squeezing Emma's hand.

"Your dad's in good hands." She assured her. "You have to believe that."

"I do." Emma said, wiping her eyes. "I just...I just really wish I could have been here."

"Like I said, you were in every way that counts." Louise assured her. "As much as it gets him worked up, and I keep telling him he should take it easy, he always gets a boost out of hearing about you and your battles. He watches the news all the time."

"I...I need to..."

"Emma, I know you want to talk to him, but seeing you this upset isn't going to do him any good." Louise told her. "If you have to, just take a minute and straighten yourself out, for his sake, please."

Emma just nodded and went to the bathroom to compose herself, knowing that Louise had a point. Right now, what was important was her dad's welfare. Louise just looked to Gia and made her way to the couch, sitting with her.

"They'll be fine, I'm sure." Louise told her. "So, what's new with you?"

On the way to the Brainfreeze, the guys saw the people already starting to clear up after the first waves of the siege. Troy was doubtful that this was the end of it, but for now, they were taking whatever time they could to begin getting ready to rebuild.

Troy's morpher bleeped, at which he answered it.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It's me." Jordan answered. Troy furrowed his brows.

"Jordan?" He asked. "Why didn't you...?"

"I used the communicator because after all this...I don't think seeing some glowing blue alien appearing from nowhere is likely to sit too well with the locals." Jordan answered. "Troy, there's a strange energy signature in the city."

"Is it another monster?" Troy asked.

"It doesn't seem like it, the readings aren't high enough." Jordan told him. "I'd like you to check it out though."

"OK, I'll get onto that." Troy told him. "Send me the co-ordinates."

He looked to Noah and Jake, before shrugging his shoulders.

"It's probably nothing if the readings are that low." He assured them. "Go ahead; I'll meet you back at Emma's place."

As he left them, Noah just looked to Jake.

"Um...do you think you can handle this yourself?" He asked. "There's something I'd kind of like to take care of."

"What could you...?" Jake started to ask.

"I ran into Quinn at the school." Noah informed him. "I'd kind of like to see that she got home safely."

"Really?" Jake asked him. "You're blowing me off for a booty call with your girlfriend?"

"So glad you understand." Noah said, patting him on the shoulder, before running off. "It's only a couple of blocks! I'll meet you back at Emma's!"

"Dude!" Jake protested, but it was too late, Noah was already disappearing out the street. Jake just shook his head. "And to think, people always said I was the hormonal one."

"Hey, check it out, it's the Green Ranger!" Someone called out. Jake smiled as he heard this. He turned and looked to see a few guys in red suits, with pink shirts and red ties approaching him.

"Um...nice suits." Jake replied.

"Yeah, we're on a job for Cerberus." One of them told him. "The Landsdown kid wanted us to go and see if there was somewhere we could find pink lemonade for her party."

"So, I guess you're fans." Jake surmised, pulling out a pen. "Do you want autographs?"

"Well, if you want to sign something, how about this?" One of them asked, pulling out a wanted poster. Jake just gulped, seeing his face on it, and the banner marking a ten million dollar reward. "Just think, with that kind of money, we wouldn't have to put up with idiots like the Landsdown kid anymore."

"Oh shit." Jake muttered, realising where this was going. While most people were happy to see the Rangers, every now and then, the reward was a little too tempting. While he did have his morpher on him, he had been a Ranger too long to think that busting out the weapons to settle what was basically a personal dispute was acceptable behaviour. These guys were just humans looking for some quick money, not Armada. "Look guys, there's clearly a way to resolve this without anyone getting..."

With that, he turned and ran as fast as he could, heading for the Brainfreeze, the thugs hot on his heels in pursuit.

On the Command Ship, Prince Vekar was pacing, tallying up the results of his first two incursions into Harwood. He was beginning to realise that the Rangers were a far stronger threat than he had first anticipated. Twice now, they had repelled major strike forces. The second incursion had been led by one of his Commanders as opposed to just a droid, and yet still they had managed to bring him down.

Still, as he saw the damage done to the streets, he still felt a measure of satisfaction. Much of the city was still in hiding, while a lot of buildings had been damaged. It wasn't exactly the "no stone standing upon another" he had promised, but as the power that the Rangers had at their disposal started to dawn on him, he was beginning to re-evaluate his cost/benefit equations. He knew that he would have to invest a LOT more into this siege if he was to tear out the Rangers' heart and destroy all they held dear.

"The first attack waves were...acceptable." He finally said, causing a collective sigh of relief from his staff. "Such destruction!"

"You didn't get them to surrender." Damaras reminded him. "They are rebuilding now."

"Don't give me back talk!" Prince Vekar snapped at him, before checking the surveillance and seeing that there were indeed people clearing up the wreckage. "We just need a way to crush them!"

"Don't worry sire, I believe I have just the thing." Lavira told him.

"Well? Don't keep us in suspense." He told her. She pulled up a video feed.

"There is a property a little way from the city that was abandoned by the residents before our invasion. It is some form of manor house." She informed him. "It is far enough away that the Rangers' attention was nowhere near it during the previous attacks. Fortunately, they are preparing for some form of festivities at the property next to it and have not noticed my forces amassing there."

She pulled up some video feeds, showing some X-borgs and a new commander working within the building, assembling some machinery. The Commander overseeing the construction had red, blistered flesh, and armour bolted directly to much of his body, with a long coat. He was observing the construction, making sure it was completed to his satisfaction.

"Cybax has been operating on minimal power to avoid detection." She told them. "By the time he assembles that underground missile battery, the Rangers will be much too far away to prevent the launch. Harwood will be wiped off the map before they even realise it!"

"Good, soon the Rangers will know what it means to stand in my way!" He declared proudly, as though it was some great accomplishment, completely ignoring the fact that it wasn't even his plan. What did details matter to his victory?


	5. Landsdown Party

At the Brainfreeze, Ernie was busy sifting through the wreckage to see what could be salvaged. In his time as a small business owner, he had gained a fair amount of experience in maintenance. In the early days especially, there wasn't always money to call in tradesmen every time there was a minor repair needing done. He was happy that for the most part, most of the damage was cosmetic. There would be a little plaster needing replaced, and the whole place could likely do with a fresh coat of paint when he was done, but for the most part, the damage was minimal.

The power had already been restored. The break in the line was outside in the street, and the city's power department had already managed to reconnect it. His furniture was built to last, the tables being bolted to the floor, and graded as suitable for protection in earthquakes given California's predilection towards tremors. The oven, the coffee machine and, most importantly the freezers had all come through the invasion unscathed. He had just finished stacking up the debris and sweeping up the floor, before stopping for a rest.

He looked up as he heard some yelling from outside. Jake skidded around a corner, almost taking out a guy sweeping up broken glass, before running towards the Brainfreeze, leaping over a mop bucket and coming inside, closing the door behind him.

"Jake...?"

"I'm not here!" Jake rushed out, running and leaping head-first over the counter, landing in a heap behind it. Ernie furrowed his brows in confusion, but as he turned back to the door, he saw what was going on through the glass. A number of men in red suits, with pink shirts and red ties were milling around, and looked like they were looking for someone. They were asking the cleaning crews questions, and as one of them pointed to the door, it didn't take Ernie long to figure out what was going on. Before he came to the states, his home country had been in the midst of a bloody and brutal war. People disappeared all the time. It wasn't the first time he had seen armed men pursuing someone through the streets.

As they came into the restaurant, Ernie just held up a hand.

"I am sorry, but we are closed..."

"Did you see a guy running through here?" One of them interrupted him. Ernie didn't want to say anything, knowing that they were looking for Jake. However, he knew that someone had pointed him in this direction. "It was one of the Rangers!"

"The Rangers?" Ernie asked. He held up a hand to indicate height. "About this tall, green coat, kind of lanky?"

"Lanky?" Jake mouthed behind the counter.

"Yeah, that one." One of the men demanded. "The guy with the mop said he came through here."

"He did." Ernie told them. "Straight through the kitchen, and out the fire exit at the back!"

Jake heard this, and knew that Ernie was directing them past him. He pressed himself against the counter, hoping that none of the men would look to the side as they rounded it. He was fortunate that was the case.

"They are gone." Ernie told him as he tapped the counter. "Don't get up though...some of them remained in the mall."

"I guess they figured I might loop back around." Jake muttered. "Great, I'm trapped here!"

"Why did you come here anyway?" Ernie asked him. Jake just looked to him.

"It's an ice-cream parlour." He stated. Ernie just smiled.

"Of course, I would do anything for my favourite fugitives." He answered. "Just wait there."

"Like I have a choice?" Jake grumbled as Ernie went to look through his stock.

Over at the Landsdown estate, Flynn was sitting on his tool chest, eating some home-made sandwiches and listening to the commotion inside. It seemed that by now the party was well underway. He only had a couple of hours left until they would need the limo, but he was confident he would be finished in time.

He couldn't help watching as a helicopter landed in the yard, and seeing Summer run out to it, he watched as a man handed her a package. He let out a little laugh seeing this. He had been to the Landsdown place a few times now to work on this limo for a number of issues, and he still was amazed by the differences their wealth made. It looked like her parents had actually paid for a helicopter to fly in her present. He could only imagine how happy it would make most kids to get that kind of treatment.

As he looked away though, his attention was caught by something. He saw a figure out the back of the neighbouring property. He put down his sandwich and got up to move a little closer. As far as he knew, the Winchesters had left town. He was too far away to get a good look, but seeing a man in a long coat head inside after checking the coast was clear, he figured some opportunist thief was taking the opportunity offered by an empty house.

"Not on my watch." He stated, opening up his tool kit. He pulled out a tray, and underneath there was a leather jacket, and a ski mask. Flynn loved superheroes, he had all his life. He had spent his whole life fantasizing about one day being a super hero himself. Pulling on the jacket and the ski mask, he picked up a large wrench, pausing only to pick up one last thing.

Just short of three months previously, he had been working late in his father's garage, when he saw a bright glow from a drawer of spark plugs. When he had opened it, he had found six tiny figurines, figurines that looked just like the Power Rangers, whose exploits he'd grown up with. He didn't know where they came from, but from that moment, he had taken that as a sign that it was time for him to act. It was time for him to finally become a hero.

Of course, the rub was...most superheroes had powers. They had fancy costumes, they had neat back stories. Flynn...was just a comic book geek who had found some toys in his dad's garage. He had been tempted to give up on his ambition when he had tried to break up a mugging he had seen, only to get kicked where it hurts. In the end though, he had figured that he didn't need fancy gadgets to take on street punks. He just needed to be a little quicker, and more importantly, to make sure no one saw him and reported him as a vigilante.

As he made his way out the back, and ran to the Winchester place, he scooched down, watching as the man in the long coat slipped in the back window. Gripping the wrench tightly, he made his way in after him.

Troy had arrived at the manor house, and checked, finding the power levels that Jordan had warned him about. He couldn't see anything, but figuring it needed a closer look, he had broken in. Moving through the house, he eventually found himself in the main lobby, a room larger than many houses, and saw that he had hit pay dirt.

X-borgs were all assembled around a large piece of machinery that they seemed to be putting together. Troy saw that it looked like five drills all pointed straight towards the floor. He doubted they were up to any good.

As he saw another creature nearby, he became more aware of the fact that he was on his own. It seemed like Prince Vekar had sent another Commander, but this one hadn't shown up on the scanner. It had red, blistered flesh, and armour seemingly riveted straight into its body, with a long, black coat. It inspected the control panel.

"The underground missiles are almost complete Prince Vekar." He said into a communicator. "The missiles will be ready to launch, in thirty minutes."

"That's not good." Troy whispered. He pulled out his communicator. "Guys, there's trouble near the city, Prince Vekar's changed up his game-plan. He's getting sneaky. Come to my co-ordinates..."

There was a huge yell, and Troy looked up in time to see a guy in a black ski-mask and black leather jacket, rushing towards him with a huge wrench, swinging for him wildly. As Troy dodged the blow, the attacker tackled him right out of cover, into the middle of the lobby. As they both started to scramble to their feet, the guy in the ski-mask just stood, staring at the robots.

"Well Well, we have an unwelcome visitor!" Cybax stated as he powered up, knowing that now he had been discovered the Rangers would be on their way. The warning alarm on Troy's morpher bleeped, confirming to Troy that he had indeed been keeping his power level down to avoid detection. The Commander levelled two pistols Troy's way as the X-borgs joined him, ready to fire.

"Oh fu..."

"Congratulations genius, you tackled the wrong guy!" Troy snapped as he shoved the hapless vigilante into cover, snatching up his morpher as they opened fire.

Over in the Brainfreeze, Jake had just gotten Troy's call. He put away his morpher.

"Ernie, Troy needs my help." Jake told him. "These new powers don't come with teleportation though. Are they still out there?"

"Would you walk away from ten million dollars so easily?" Ernie asked him. Jake just sighed and rested his head against the counter.

"Great, that's just great!" He muttered. "How do I get out of here without being seen?"

Ernie just got a grin on his face and pointed to Jake.

"Wait right there." He told him. "I think I have just the thing."

Flynn was crouching in cover, watching the battle unfold. He still couldn't believe he had gotten it all so wrong. He thought he was getting his chance to be a hero tackling a burglar. He could hardly believe that he had attacked one of the Power Rangers that he had idolised so much.

He watched as Troy struggled to hold his own. The impromptu start to the battle had left him rattled and off-balance. The X-borgs and Cybax were punting him around the room, their numbers telling on Troy, who was still struggling to find room to breathe after the initial onslaught. Flynn looked down to the figurines in his hand and realised that this was his fault. If he hadn't jumped the gun, if he had thought about what he was doing, then Troy and the other Rangers would have dealt with this by now. Instead, he had put Troy's life, and by extension, the lives of the whole planet in danger all to get a little taste of what it meant to be a superhero.

He picked up his wrench, gripping it tightly and ran out of cover, screaming as he went, smashing one of the X-borg's head from its shoulders. His moment of heroism was quickly repaid as two more smashed him in the ribs with their weapons, sending him skidding across the floor.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Troy yelled as he blasted the two off Flynn. "Get out of here?"

"This is my planet too!" Flynn protested as he got up, preparing to continue fighting. "Why do you have the right to fight and I don't? What's the difference between you and me?"

"I'm not trying to face down state-of-the-art weapons technology with a twelve inch adjustable spanner!" Troy yelled back, cutting through some more of the X-borgs. Just then, Cybax planted both pistols straight into Troy's chest and pulled the triggers, punting him through the wall. Troy didn't stop until he slammed through the outer wall, ending up in the Landsdown's yard. As he got up, he saw Cybax and some of the X-borgs coming right for him.

"Guys, where are you?" He called out.

"One rescue coming up!" Noah announced as he arrived on the scene first, slicing through a few of the X-borgs. Troy just pointed to the other house.

"Noah, the underground missiles are in there!" Troy told him. "Deal with them first!"

"But..."

"The others will be here any minute!" Troy told him. "If those things go off, none of this matters! Go and disable them!"

Noah didn't want to leave Troy to face them alone, but he also knew that of all of them, he had the most knowledge about machines. If any of them were able to disarm the missiles, it would be him. He saw Troy battling Cybax, and wanted to rush in to help, but in the end conceded to Troy's wisdom and headed for the manor house.

When he got there, he found some X-borgs still guarding the missiles. He saw the countdown and growled.

"I don't have time for this!" He snapped as he got to work, smashing apart his opponents. Just then, he saw Flynn running to the missile battery. "Wait, who are you?"

"Someone who wants to help!" Flynn told him. "Keep these bampots off me for a few minutes!"

"Those are high explosives!" Noah screamed at him. "You can't..."

"In about twenty minutes it's not going to matter either way!" Flynn replied. "Now keep them off me and let me concentrate!"

Noah just carried on fighting his opponents.

Up on the Command Ship, Prince Vekar was enraged by what he had seen. What started out as a simple plan to level the city before the Rangers realised it was in danger was quickly unravelling.

"Sir, the other Rangers have just arrived." Damaras informed him. "Your X-borgs..."

"Why do these Rangers keep defeating my X-borgs?" He snapped. "Send more! Many more!"

"As you wish sir." Damaras stated, initiating the command.

In the Landsdown's yard, the security guards had ushered the guests inside by the time the other Rangers arrived. As they got to work, clearing out the X-borgs, they looked up to see more arriving.

"More X-borgs?" Emma complained. "Does he not realise what all that scrap metal does to the planet?"

"They're not scrap yet." Jake stated, blasting down a couple of them. "But they will be soon!"

Gia was distracted by one of the X-borgs when Cybax hit her with a blast. It sent her flying up into the first-floor of the mansion, crashing onto the floor of a bedroom. As she got up, she saw some girls cowering there. One of them had long, dark streaks running down her face from her ruined make-up.

"Don't worry; we'll get you out..."

"I can't believe this is happening." The girl sobbed. "First my parents don't show up, now you're wrecking my house! This is the worst birthday ever!"

"Wait...are you...is she serious?" Gia snapped at her friends, pointing to Summer. "Is she SERIOUS?"

"You're destroying the house!" One of her friends chipped in. Gia rolled her eyes.

"OK, there are dozens of robots and an alien out there, who quite literally want to kill you!" Gia pointed out. "There are missiles next door that are going to go off any second, levelling the whole city...and you're worried because we trashed your freaking LAWN?"

"You don't understand, how could you?" Summer sobbed. Gia was about to leave and just dismiss this, when something caught her attention. Sitting on the bedside table was something she recognised as a Ranger Key. Picking it up, she recognised it from Noah's files. It belonged to a team who only showed up briefly in this dimension, only for a couple of days in Panorama. She remembered Mike telling them something about Rangers from another dimension...the RPM Rangers. Rangers from a dimension where machines had taken over the world and virtually destroyed everything.

"No, YOU don't understand!" Gia yelled at her. "You don't understand because you're a spoiled, selfish brat who thinks the world comes to an end if she doesn't get her way!"

Gia snatched up the key, and de-morphed, shoving the morpher into Summer's hand, and the key into the lock. She knew that the keys gave the Rangers memories and knowledge necessary to operate the weapons systems they had, but also some of the background to the team themselves. Their names, what they did, how they fought...

"Take a look at this, and then tell me this is the worst that can happen!" She tuned the key, morphing Summer into the RPM Yellow Ranger. The terrified girl screamed as she was suddenly hit with a barrage of memories, some of which were familiar, others...that weren't. It was like her memories, but some of them were different, some of them...hadn't happened yet. She saw Andrews sacrificing himself, giving his life to see her escape. She saw herself join a Ranger team, give up everything about the sheltered life she knew to fight for a world that was all but destroyed. She looked to Gia.

"That hasn't happened here!" Gia told her. "And these might be different enemies, but if you think they're going to do any different with this world..."

Summer just got up from the bed and headed towards the window.

"Summer, where are you going?" One of her friends asked.

"I have to do something Brie!" Summer told her. "I...I need to help!"

"Landsdowns don't help people!" Brie called out.

"Well maybe it's time we started!" Summer called back as she leapt out of the window.

Meanwhile, in the manor house next door, Noah had just finished with the last of his opponents when Flynn ripped out a few more wires. He smiled as he finished his work, pulling off his ski-mask.

"That ought to do it." He commented with a smile. "You know, for advanced aliens, their weapons' system was pretty basic."

"You...you did it." Noah stammered as he inspected Flynn's work. Flynn just smirked.

"Well, I might not be a Power Ranger, but that doesn't mean I can't help save the world." He answered. Noah saw something on the floor and picked it up, seeing it was a Ranger Key. Flynn had dropped it during the fight. "Uh...that's mine..."

"You had these?" Noah asked. He looked to the keys, recognising them as the RPM Keys, then remembered Mike telling him about meeting them. He mentioned one of them was Scottish. "Flynn McAllister?"

"Uh...how do you know my name?" Flynn asked him.

"Well, I can explain it to you, or I can let you see for yourself." Noah told him, de-morphing and offering Flynn his morpher. "If you give the other keys to my friends, and promise to give this back, how would you like to..."

"To be a Power Ranger?" Flynn yelled excitedly as he took the morpher. Noah handed him the keys. I've...I've waited my whole LIFE for that chance!"

"I think blue would suit you best." He suggested. Flynn just smiled as he turned the key in the morpher.


	6. A Strong Message

In the grounds of Landsdown Manor, Troy, Jake and Emma were busy fighting the remaining X-borgs when they saw the Blue RPM Ranger running their way. Seeing this, Jake just smiled.

"Hey guys, check it out!" Jake announced, blasting away one of his opponents. "Trust Noah to disarm a missile and get a new toy out of it at the same time!"

"Thank me later pal." Flynn replied as he threw Jake the Green RPM key. He blasted a bunch of the X-borgs with his Turbo Cannon as he turned, throwing Troy the Red RPM key, before stopping as he realised he had three left, but none of them were pink. "Uh...if you can't have pink, what would you rather have? Black, Silver or Gold?"

"What's with the accent?" Emma asked him. "Noah, is that you?"

"No time to explain." Flynn told her as the Yellow RPM Ranger joined the battle, sending her Zip Charger flying into the enemy ranks, destroying more of them. He just made a decision, throwing Emma the Black Key. "Here, use this one!"

"Alright guys, let's do this!" Troy announced. "RPM, Get in Gear!"

The remaining three Rangers morphed into RPM mode, receiving a power boost in the process. One of the fringe benefits of the Legendary Modes was that each came with its own power supply, meaning that changing gave a short, but sometimes decisive boost in power. As they cleared out the last of the X-borgs, five Bruisers remained, standing between the Rangers and Cybax.

"Alright, let's do this." Troy stated. "RPM enforcer!"

As the Rangers came together, forming up the weapon. As they levelled it at the monsters, Flynn started to squee loudly, feeling his childhood dream come true. The others just looked at him.

"Seriously, who ARE you?" Jake asked.

"Can we focus here?" Troy asked. "FIRE!"

As the Bruisers were obliterated, the Rangers turned their attention to Cybax. He was now standing alone, but that didn't seem to phase him at all. He leapt into the air, firing his pistols at them, taking the Rangers down.

As he was about to get up, Jake found himself being kicked into the air, before Cybax fired more shots into him, sending him flying. Emma was next, being pistol-whipped to the ground, before he flipped away, firing on Troy and Flynn who had to dive for cover.

"Man, this guy's seen WAY too many John Woo films!" Jake complained. "Gia, can you cover us?"

He didn't get any reply. The Yellow Ranger just continued to hunker down in cover.

"Gia, for goodness sake...will you do something?" Troy asked. The Yellow Ranger still did nothing. Flynn remembered the others calling him Noah as he arrived.

"Hey, Yellow!" He called out, causing her to look up. "He's talking to you!"

Summer nodded in understanding, breaking cover and unleashing her suit's special chi-blast ability. It missed, but gave Jake the opportunity to teleport behind Cybax and hack him down with his Turbo Axe.

"I've got this!" Emma told him. "Rocket Blaster!"

She fired off her blaster at point-blank range, using her suit's shield ability to prevent the splashback from the explosion harming her. Flynn looked to Troy.

"I'll buy you some time and you finish him!" He rushed out. "Time Manipulation!"

As Cybax was getting to his feet, he was caught in the area of effect, becoming frozen in time. Troy didn't waste the opportunity, powering up the Street Sabre. Rushing through, he sliced through Cybax, destroying him in a single blow. With that, he, Jake and Emma all turned back into Corsair mode. They looked to the Yellow and Blue Rangers in confusion.

"Um...you can turn back guys." Jake told them.

"Actually, they kind of can't." Gia answered as she ran over. They had to do a double-take between Gia and the Yellow Ranger. As Noah arrived, Jake threw up his hands.

"Alright, can someone tell me what's going on?" He asked.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Flynn McAllister and Summer Landsdown." Noah said as Flynn and Summer powered down. "Flynn had most of the RPM keys...I'm guessing Summer had her own."

"Wait, so...these guys are the RPM Rangers?" Troy asked.

"Apparently we would have been." Flynn told him, the power of the key having given him the knowledge he needed to understand the powers. "Though having seen what would have happened to the world...I'm kind of glad I never became a superhero."

"Me too." Summer murmured, looking to Gia. "I...I...I never..."

"You did a good job." Gia told her. "Sorry for the..."

"No...thank you." Summer answered. "Noone...noone's ever given me...I've never had responsibility like that...what I saw..."

"What you saw hasn't happened here." Gia told her, taking back her morpher. "And if we can help it, it never will."

Just then, beams hit the ground, right where Cybax had fallen. Noah just took his morpher back from Flynn.

"You did great." Noah told him. "But now's probably good time to let us take over."

"Ye dinnae have tae tell me twice." Flynn replied as he grabbed Summer. "Come on Summer, it looks like good time tae leg it."

Back on the Command Ship, Prince Vekar watched as Cybax grew to massive size, and the Rangers called their Megazord.

"No, No, NO!" He ranted in a childish manner, slamming his fist into the console. "Lavira...!"

"Don't worry; I have a back-up plan." She told him. "The Rangers may have stopped the timer, but the warheads have been armed! The launcher may not work, but the warheads are still active! Cybax can still use them!"

"He better!" Prince Vekar screamed. "If he dares to show up without destroying that city, he'll WISH the Rangers had finished him off!"

Back on the ground, the Rangers had just formed up the Megazord when they saw Cybax heading back for the Winchester Mansion. He slammed a fist through it, grabbing up one of the warheads.

"Now I can use these to destroy the city myself!" He yelled. Jake just scoffed.

"He does know that missiles don't work that way right?" He asked.

"Unless the warheads are armed, then all he has to do is set off the primer charge." Noah informed him. "He could do that with a big enough impact to its point."

"You mean like...if he uses one of them like a lawn dart?" Emma asked him. Noah just nodded.

"That might work." Noah replied. "I know I don't want to take any chances that's for sure."

"Alright guys, there's no room for error!" Troy called out as they rushed for him. Feinting with one of their swords, they reached out, catching Cybax's wrist as he tried to jam the missile into the ground, before swinging their sword, scoring a telling blow. They used his moment of pain to wrestle the missile from his grip.

"There, got it!" Jake announced. "Now we have one of Vekar's toys, it seems rude not to return it to its owner!"

They gathered up the other missiles, throwing them like darts into the sky. Bright flashes lighting up the sky confirmed that they had hit something in orbit. Unfortunately, their task had distracted them long enough for Cybax to recover. He leapt into the air, blasting them with twin pistols.

"Man, the John Woo thing again?" Jake asked.

"If he wants to play Gun Fu, I say we give him what he wants! Lets' go with the team that's all about firepower!" Troy announced, flicking open his SPD key. "SPD Delta Runner Megazord!"

As the Delta Runner came forth, Cybax tried in vain to blast it, but it was far too fast and manoeuvrable, making simple work of dodging his blasts. It fired on him, sending him to the ground, before uniting with the main Megazord. They found a pair of blaster pistols in their hands.

"SWEET!" Jake yelled in approval. "Let's see how HE likes a taste of his own medicine!"

The Megazord broke into a run, firing at Cybax as he regained his feet, firing back. They launched into the air, flipping and twirling over him as they peppered him with blasts. Cybax screamed in pain as he dropped his pistols on the ground, falling to his knees.

"Alright guys, let's really bring out the big guns." Gia stated as their pistols disassembled, and formed into the Zord, giving them gattling cannons on the legs and shoulders of the Zord.

"Do...do you think I fear you?" Cybax screamed as he looked to his pistols.

"It's over." Troy told him. "You can't make it."

"Do you really think I fear you?" Cybax asked again. "Do you have any idea what Prince Vekar would do to me if I return having failed?"

"He's...he's not seriously going to try it is he?" Jake asked. Almost immediately in response, Cybax lunged for his pistols. They were much too far away; he simply couldn't get to them before the Rangers opened fire, cutting him to pieces with a point-blank salvo from their gattling cannon. They watched as he exploded.

"We did it!" Jake announced. "Chalk up another..."

"This has to end!" Troy put down flatly.

"Troy..."

"Seriously, we can't find the rest of the keys if we have to keep fending off wave after wave coming against the city!" Troy told them.

"Troy...we don't have the firepower to take on the whole Armada." Emma reminded him.

"No, but we can give them something to think about!" Troy replied, converting back to the Red Galleon and heading for orbit. Jordan appeared before them.

"Uh...Troy? I think I should warn you...I never really intended this as a deep-space craft." He told him. "Your range is limited...if you go out much further than the moon, the life-support won't sustain you."

"That's all we need, a little breathing space." Troy told him. The other Rangers looked to him and nodded in agreement. While this seemed like a suicidal idea, Troy had a point. The remaining keys were still scattered. If they didn't force Prince Vekar to back off, they would never be able to continue their search without having to sacrifice Harwood and everyone in it, including their friends, their families, and everyone who had stayed because they had faith in them. They fired up the rockets, blasting into space.

On his Command Ship, Prince Vekar was screaming like a maniac, storming around his bridge.

"I can't believe it! They did it again!" He yelled, kicking an X-borg off its chair by its control console. "I want another Commander, I want..."

"Uh...sire?" Damaras stated.

"WHAT?" Prince Vekar screamed.

"They're...they're...THEY'RE COMING RIGHT FOR US!" He rushed out. Prince Vekar turned in time to see the Red Galleon heading their way, unleashing deadly broadsides that took out dozens of his ships, taking hundreds of his troops with them. As they got to the moon, they circled around it, transforming into Megazord mode.

"They...they're destroying my fleet!" Prince Vekar screamed as he watched them power through the rest of his nearby ships, slicing through them. "Damaras, order the fleet to destroy them!"

"What fleet?" Damaras asked him. Prince Vekar looked up to see that the Rangers had indeed destroyed most of his initial landing fleet. The Megazord kicked the floating debris of one of the ships straight at the Command Ship, rocking it as the ship collided with its target.

"Damage report!" Lavira demanded as the ship stopped shaking.

"Superficial body damage on decks 12 through 17." Damaras informed them. He looked up, seeing the Megazord hovering there.

"Those Rangers...they destroyed my glorious ships!" Prince Vekar screamed. "How DARE they destroy my ships!"

"Sir, we have more ships, it will just take some time to call in reinforcements." Damaras told him. "For now, we should just hold our position."

"What?" Prince Vekar yelled. "Why?"

"They have not advanced beyond the moon." Damaras informed him, pointing to where they were still floating. "I don't think...I don't think they have the capability for deep-space travel."

"So?" Prince Vekar asked. Damaras just looked to him.

"So, as long as we remain here, they cannot continue this assault and damage any more of your fleet." Damaras informed him. "We can bide our time until reinforcements come, but for now...we're in a stalemate."

"A stalemate." Prince Vekar sneered. "Send them a communication. I think it's about time I met these...Rangers. It is about time we spoke face to face."

A little while later, Troy and the other Rangers were assembled on the deck of the Red Galleon. They had received a communication that Prince Vekar wanted to talk face-to-face. They knew better than to believe he wouldn't try anything, and so they had set the conditions. He was to come aboard the Red Galleon alone, and without weapons. Troy had given his word of honour that if he was serious about talking about peace, that none of the Rangers would make a move on him unless he tried anything.

Prince Vekar teleported onto the deck, finding the five Rangers waiting for him. True to their word, none of them had their weapons drawn. As Troy stepped forward, he de-morphed.

"So, you're Prince Vekar." Troy stated. "You wanted to discuss peace?"

"I wanted to discuss your surrender." He said with a smile. "I can appreciate your accomplishments. I can concede you have put up a much greater fight than I had anticipated, and taken more of my resources than I had intended to expend."

"Surrender?" Troy asked him. "Not going to happen."

"You fail to understand, what we have right now is an impasse. You cannot decisively defeat me, and I cannot decisively defeat you...yet." He told him. "More of my fleet is coming as we speak. Your planet WILL be over-run. If you lay down your arms now, then we can avoid the inevitable bloodshed and destruction. I will be happy to pardon you for your crimes against my empire. Why...I may even see fit to reward you if you just lay down your arms peacefully."

"Reward?" Troy asked him. "What kind of reward?"

"My empire is large; I cannot be everywhere at once." He stated. "I can leave you and your planet in your care...under my supervision of course."

"If you think we'd sell out like that, you don't know anything about the Corsair Rangers." Troy fired back. "We're nothing like your privateer Lafitte. Even he went running with his tail between his legs."

"Lafitte?" Prince Vekar chuckled. "You think I have anything to do with pirate scum like him? He's as much of a thorn in my side as he is yours! I've had a reward of five hundred million credits on his head for years!"

Troy paused for a moment hearing this. He was sure Lafitte was working for Prince Vekar. While he knew that he was Vrak's brother, and he was aware Vrak was not to be trusted in any way, he already had a feeling that Vekar was very different from Vrak. He had a feeling that Vekar's arrogance was so great that he would not feel the need to be deceitful if he believed he had the upper hand. If that was true, then that meant Lafitte was either lying, or he was working for someone else. He shook off the question, feeling it was a mystery for another time.

"You've already seen we're willing to bring the fight to your doorstep." Troy snapped. "If you touch Harwood again, we'll send more of your toys back to you in pieces!"

"This is your final answer?" Prince Vekar asked him. "I offer you a chance to leave with your lives and you spit in my face?"

"A life as a slave is no life." Troy replied. "We've drawn the line, cross it if you want, but don't be surprised if more of your Commanders go the same way."

"Very well." Prince Vekar stated, looking to the other Rangers. "You had your chance. You will not hear the last of this."

With that, he disappeared. Troy just sighed.

"Somehow, I doubted we would have." He replied, turning to his friends. "Still, at least now he'll stay out of Harwood for a while. We sent a strong message; it'll take a long time before he has the guts to try anything like that again."

"It'll take him a while to reinforce his fleet." Noah agreed as he, Gia and Emma de-morphed. "In the meantime, we should be going. We've gotten a break; we should make the most of it and find some more keys."

"There's...there are some things I want to do home first." Emma told them. Troy looked to her and nodded.

"We'll go home and head out again in the morning." Troy agreed. "We need to let the citizens of Harwood know they can rebuild."

"Jake...why aren't you de-morphing?" Gia asked him. "The battle's over."

"Uh...I'll do it later." Jake answered.

"Seriously man, don't you think we've had enough of people in Ranger suits we can't see?" Noah asked him.

"I'll just go to my room." Jake told them.

"Jake, what's going on?" Emma asked him.

"Why are you all making such a big deal out of this?" Jake asked with a chuckle. "Seriously, it's no big..."

"If it's no big deal, then why can't you de-morph?" Gia asked him. Jake looked around and realised the others weren't going to leave this alone. Reluctantly, he de-morphed. The others just stared at him in amazement. When he had been trapped in the restaurant, and he had needed to find a way to get past the goons looking for him, Ernie had offered him a way out...he had given him the promotional mascot costume he used any time he wanted to advertise a new offer. Jake stood before them in a costume that looked like a giant tub of ice-cream, topped with a large, red cherry. The words "Mr Brainfreeze" were emblazoned across the chest.

"What...what the...?" Noah started to splutter out between laughs as the team all descended into hysterics.

"Never. Speak. Of this. Again!" Jake said gruffly as he stormed away, while the others clutched their sides, tears of laughter running down their faces.


	7. So Long Harwood

The Brainfreeze was packed by the time the Rangers got there. Troy was determined to make the most of the time they had bought with their assault on The Armada's fleet. They knew that now they had created an impasse with Prince Vekar, forcing him to wait for more ships, they would no longer have to worry about him assaulting their home town any longer. At least...not until his reinforcements arrived anyway. Although they had more keys to find, and now they had a window of opportunity to continue their search, they couldn't afford to waste a second.

Of course, Troy wasn't made of stone. This was the first time they'd been home since the invasion began, and it was likely the last chance they'd have before the end of the war. They all still had loved ones in the city, people who had so much faith in them they had stayed even after Prince Vekar had warned them to evacuate. In order to save some time, Troy had called all of them to meet them at the Brainfreeze.

By the time they got there, not only had Ernie cleaned up the worst of the mess, he had also set up something of an impressive spread for them. As they got there, all of their parents were there to meet them. Kyle and his security crew, Summer, Flynn, Allison, Jake's girlfriend, and Quinn, Noah's girlfriend were all there too.. The restaurant had been decorated with a huge banner, emblazoned with the slogan, "Earth Fights Back". The hastily arranged party all cheered as the Rangers arrived, descending on them in a wave of hugs and greetings.

"It's been great seeing all of you." Mr Burrows rushed out. "We loved having you here!"

"It's been great being home for us too." Troy assured his dad. "I just wish we could stay longer, but we have a lot more keys to search for."

"Well, we think we can help with that." Mr Burrows stated with a smile, looking to the other parents, before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out the Red Megaforce Ranger Key.

"Another...another Ranger Key?" Troy asked. "But how?"

"This appeared in our house shortly after you left." Mr Holling said as he approached Jake, handing him the Black Megaforce Key. We didn't understand what it was at first, but Eric and Louise called after you ran out to face that new monster."

Eric and Louise stepped forward, handing over the Pink and Yellow keys to Emma and Gia. Noah looked to his mom as she came towards him, clutching the Blue Megaforce key.

"I...I'm..." She started to stammer, remembering how she had been when she found out that her son had become a Power Ranger. She hadn't believed it, she didn't see her son that way, but standing before her now, he couldn't look less like the kid that shut himself up in his garage all day, doing science experiments. "I'm so proud of you."

As she hugged him tightly, and the party started to get underway, Andrews the butler went to Summer's side.

"That was a very good thing you did Miss Summer." He said proudly.

"I just got to thinking about all the stuff I got them to do." Summer answered with a shrug. "When Gia let me morph, I saw...well...I saw how bad things could be and it got me to thinking a lot about my life."

"Really?" He asked her. Summer just looked to him.

"The thing is, I took a long, hard look at myself, and I didn't really like what I saw." She told him. She looked to him.

"Andrews, I've not treated you very well." She admitted. "I don't even know your first name."

"Derek." He told her, smiling. She just nodded.

"Alright, then if you don't mind, I guess I'll call you Derek from now on." She stated. As she headed off with Andrews to take a seat with Flynn. Gia was sitting on her own when her mother came over to her. She saw the way Gia was just playing with her smoothie, as she looked over to where Jake and Noah were getting reacquainted with their girlfriends.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Gia just shrugged. "Look, Emma told me what happened with Cat. For what it's worth, I'm really sorry."

Gia didn't say anything as Louise just sat with her, looking to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked. Gia just shook her head.

"There's nothing to say really." She answered. "Cat found someone else, and she dumped me."

"It always hurts when a relationship ends." Louise said as she reached for her daughter, stroking her shoulder. "I know there's nothing I can say right now that will make it all go away. I could tell you all the clichés in the world about how she doesn't deserve you, or how everything's going to work out for the best, but right now I know you don't want to hear it."

"It just...It really hurts mom." She admitted. "I miss her so much."

"I know you do sweetheart. I really wish I could make it all better." Louise reiterated. "It's never easy. You know, at one time, there were even times I missed your dad."

"Dad?" Gia asked her. "You mean, my dad, the homophobic, psychologically abusive jackass that's currently serving 10 years in a Federal Prison?"

"I know it's strange, but we were together for a long time. I know I'm better off out of that relationship, but you don't stay with a man for twenty years if there isn't love there." Louise told her with a smile. "I guess the way I see it, sometimes even the bad stuff happens for a reason."

"I don't understand." Gia told her. Louise just smiled.

"I got a really wonderful gift from Gerald." She said as she took Gia's hand. "And, when all that stuff about you came to light, while it caused a lot of pain, it did get me out of a relationship that hadn't been working for a long time, and now I'm with a man that loves me and my wonderful girl with all his heart."

"I guess it's just hard to see the good that came out of this right now." Gia admitted. Louise just smiled.

"Well, how about I give you something to look forward to?" Louise asked her. She leaned in and whispered something in Gia's ear. The Yellow Ranger just parted from her, looking at her.

"Are...are you serious?" Gia asked with a smile. Louise just nodded.

"We're going to wait until the war is over though." Louise assured her. "We wouldn't feel right about it if you and Emma weren't there."

"I'm really happy for you mom." Gia told her, hugging her mom tightly. "We'll fight so hard, we'll do everything we can to get back here, on one condition!"

"What's that?" Louise asked.

"I get to be your Maid of Honour." Gia insisted. Louise just nodded.

"Who else would I ask?" She responded warmly.

Meanwhile, Emma took her dad out the back of the restaurant. He stopped as she got to the kitchen.

"Emma..."

"Dad, please just let me say this." Emma told him. "I...I know about your heart attack. Louise told me."

"Emma, I'm alright..."

"Dad, you had a heart attack!" She reiterated. "You need to take care of yourself."

"Emma, I am..."

"Dad, not even half an hour ago, you faced down members of the Scorpion Cartel!" Emma interrupted him. "Dad, please, if anything happened to you...I don't know what I'd do."

"Emma, it wasn't serious..."

"Dad, it's a HEART ATTACK!" She interrupted him again tearfully. "I almost lost you, and...and I wasn't around to do anything about it."

Eric just sighed, looking at his daughter as she came closer to him.

"Dad, we have a long way to go in all this, but I really do want to come back one day." She insisted. "Please, promise me you'll take better care of yourself. Promise me you'll let Louise and Kyle help you. I want you to be here when I get back."

Eric just looked to her, and hugged her tightly.

"I promise." He told her. "Kyle...he's been great with the business. Louise is really kicking my butt to take the doctor's advice."

"I love you dad! I don't want to lose you." She told him.

"I'll be here." He promised as she looked to her. "I promise."

By the time the night ended, and the Rangers got ready to head out on the next leg of their journey, their loved ones made sure they said a proper goodbye. Although they hated having to go, the Rangers knew that the time they had bought was not infinite.

As the Red Galleon blasted off, the Rangers watched Harwood disappear into the distance. Troy put his arm around Emma as she looked longingly over the city.

"We'll be back some day." He promised her.

"I want to believe that." Emma answered. "So where are we going next?"

"Well, that really depends on Tensou." Troy told her. "We haven't gotten the next clue from him yet."

"Yeah, that'll be fun." Emma stated. They still didn't really know how to activate his tracking software, other than shocking it into action by hitting him over the head, something Tensou resented to no end. So far, everyone who had done it, had ended up getting pecked mercilessly in retaliation. "So whose turn is it anyway?"

"Well, I've done it, and so has Jake." Troy recalled. "So it's going to be Noah or one of you girls."

"Great, that's all I need." Emma sighed as she followed him inside. There, Tensou was staring down the others.

"We've got the next poem." Noah told them, holding up a piece of paper. "I made a deal with Tensou, and he let me kick-start his tracking programme."

"Seek next the Lion Hearted defender from the city of the Great Abyss,  
The defender of the law,  
Find his hidden school within the mountain mist,  
And gain the keys of the warriors of the shadow."

"Alright, so what does that mean?" Jake asked Noah. The Blue Ranger just shook his head.

"I'll help you figure it out in a minute." Noah told them as he headed out of the room. Troy just furrowed his brows.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"I have to fulfil my end of the deal with Tensou." Noah told them. "He said that from now on, whoever hits him has to wear the Mr Brainfreeze outfit for an hour."

As he left, the rest of the Rangers turned their attention back to the poem, trying to figure out where their adventure would take them next.

Fin.

**A/N: **OK, kind of a short chapter to finish off, but the next story will begin very soon.

Now, for a fun little challenge, let's see if anyone can figure out where our heroes are going next...and more importantly, who'll be making the next cameo.

Thank you to all my loyal readers, and reviewers!


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